I think the mark of becoming a grown up was when I started making my own pasta sauce… This probably happened for me after I got married and decided I had to start growing up. I used to live on jarred pasta sauces, and late night take out, in my college years, so thanks to my (much better cook and chef) husband I who taught me how easy it is to make pasta sauce from scratch, I realize how much better pasta tastes with sauce from scratch!
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Today’s post brings you to something very personal, near and dear to my heart. It’s something that I have been thinking about writing about and sharing with you for days now. It’s something that I have been practicing for over a month and it has led to some subtle shifts that are creating a profound impact on my everyday life.

I have known for many years that my yoga practice was not entirely complete. While I have been practicing the asanas for over a decade I was missing some vital components of the true essence of what yoga really is and what it hopes to bring into our lives. I think many of us think that yoga is just postures, movement and breath work, and in essence, it is. The asanas keep us flexible, ground us to the earth and let us feel as if we are opening up to the universe, but asanas only get us so far……

Late last week a couple jars of the most delicious beets I have ever tasted magically showed up on my doorstep. As I opened the door I caught a gust of wind from the cold, damp, and rainy Seattle weather and quickly scooped up the jars and brought them into my warm kitchen.

As the fireplace crackled in the family room I sat on the bar stool of the kitchen island and popped open a jar, quickly grabbing a fork and proceeding to pull out the most exquisite pickled beets I had ever set my eyes on. One taste and the subtle flavors of the garlic, dill, mustard seed, and celery danced on my tongue. Thanks to Seattle Pickle Co. these earthy, crispy, perfectly pickled beets immediately brought a warm smile to my face…. now, the question was, what to make with these delicious beauties?

So how could I resist the thought of making a thick and creamy corn chowder? I couldn’t really. So here it is: my thick and creamy vegan corn chowder! 13 simple, natural, ingredients; most of which you already have at home and the rest of which you can find at practically any grocery store, 15 minutes prep time, and dinner in one, hot, creamy, bubbly, pot. What could be better?

Think about it…. Creamy, smooth, decadent fudge is only 6 ingredients, a mixing bowl, and a freezer away.

I’ve been an almond and coconut friend for as long as I can remember. My obsession started with Coconut Macaroons, then digressed to Almond Joy Bars, made a right turn at Almond and Coconut KIND Bars, and has finally arrived back to home base – good old Homemade Almond and Coconut Fudge.

Plus, I knew I can figure out a way to make these with all natural and super healthy ingredients, refined-sugar free, completely raw, and loaded up with my favorite toppings. Not to mention they are dairy, gluten, and soy free…. and last for months (if I can stop my friends from stealing them!)

Verdict: So good. So easy. At this point I’m basically operating a almond and coconut freezer fudge factory out of my kitchen…

Now that the sun is starting to shine a little bit longer around here, I find myself craving smoothies more and more…

Smoothies are my quintessential summer meal. With fresh and ripe ingredients, they are healthy, portable and convenient meal-in-ones I feel good about slurping as I skip along though the morning. And while I LOVE my morning green smoothie, because it’s packed full of that good for your green fiber, some days I just crave a little more texture and crunch…

So, drumroll please! Enter the breakfast smoothie bowl, which swaps out my cup and straw for a bowl and spoon. Something I can sit down to on a weekend morning, on the deck outside, while watching the kids play in the sandbox.

Now that we have talked about what the perfect foods are to eat, for weight loss and beauty, let’s talk a little about why these are the perfect foods to eat to create true energy and lasting beauty.

To start with, your body does its part naturally by working towards maintaining the perfect balance internally. Your cells and systems continuously cleanse themselves throughout the day and especially as you sleep at night. But how does your body work to maintain this perfect balance? By digesting the things you eat, and turning that into energy.

So what does this mean for health, greater energy and beauty? It means that digestion is the key component to maintenance and healing and the biggest secret to obtaining true beauty and radiating pure energy. …

Now that you have the perfect recipe for cleansing, whether it’s for a week or ongoing, I’m going to give you a little background on how I came to realize that this was the perfect way to cleanse and detox the body, infuse nutrients, and literally change your cells, one by one, from the inside out… leaving you with tremendous energy and truly radiant beauty. But a little warning before we begin: this is a personal story.

It was about 3 years ago, a year or so after the birth of our second child, that I started to chronically feel tired and rundown all the time. I was about 6 months postpartum, and after running 4 times a week, breastfeeding, semi-dieting every day, and doing yoga on my days off from running, I had finally gotten myself back down to my pre-pregnancy weight and size. But I was tired (even though my baby had been sleeping through the night for a while now), I wasn’t eating the best (even though it was low-fat) and generally just didn’t feel so great, so I knew something wasn’t right. …

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Hi Everyone and welcome to GalaLiving! I am Milen Gala. I live, love, work and play in Seattle, Washington with my husband and our 2 kids (ages 8 and 5). We initially created GalaLiving in 2012 to share vegetarian and vegan recipes with our friends and family. In the past couple of years GalaLiving has transformed from a simple little food blog to a much loved space where several thousand people make and share our recipes and health and wellness inspirations. At GalaLiving, we like to eat wholesome, energizing dishes and incorporate lifestyle habits that keep us glowing and make us feel like a million bucks. We hope you enjoy discovering and tasting new things along with us!